Shaul Arieli, former commander of the northern brigade in the Gaza Strip, candidly reject the Israeli governments insistence that natural growth in the settlements must continue, he said in an interview with Middle East Progress. He stated that hundreds of unoccupied apartments remain in the settlements and that these housing units should be occupied before any new construction. Arieli pointed out that 84 out of 100 settlements rest in full or in part on Palestinian owned land. He further rejected the need for the expansion of settlements by claiming that residents should relocate if there is no additional housing. He said,
“The term ‘natural growth’ is nonsense. First of all Israel used it dishonestly since it was coined. Second, if there is no more room, settlers should seek a different place to live. If the son of Minister of Defense Ehud Barak wanted to live next to his father in a luxury tower in Tel Aviv, would the government approve the construction of another tower for him? No. he would look for some place else to live. The same rule should apply to settlers.”
The issue of natural growth recently resulted in disputes between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Obama and other administration officials called on a complete settlement freeze while Netanyahu insists that settlements require permission to expand in order to accommodate high birth rates.